Hate my new job and want to leave

Sunrise_Sunset

I started a new job a couple of months ago. The workload from the get go has been overwhelming and I don't feel that any person would be able to keep up with this. I genuinely feel that the job would require 2, if not 3 people, to complete the tasks in the timeframes required. I have generally always had positive feedback from employers regarding my work ethic, ability to prioritise, and get tasks completed, so I don't feel the issue is with me. I come home from work and once the kids are in bed I'm logging on and doing another 3 hours or so. On the weekends I'm doing hours too. And I'm still not up to date. I raised the issue with my boss and was advised if I'm ever struggling to speak to her and she can tell me what to prioritise. But that's not the issue. The issue is there are simply not enough hours in the day/week for the sheer volume of it. I came out of a 20 minute meeting the other day and I had 42 emails, another day I came back from lunch to 86 emails. 95% needed actioning from me.

I'm exhausted, mentally and physically. I cannot continue. I'm too tired or busy to even see my kids, or cook dinner, or clean the house, general day to day things like that have been non-existent.

I want to leave. I've been saying this since this my first week. I feel embarrassed though, handing in notice after 2 months. My notice period is also 2 months. I'd be hoping in the current jobs market that would be enough time for me to get another job. I could ask for the notice period to be waived or reduced, but I don't know if they'd agree to that. Plus that would leave me with a shorter timeframe to find another job, I could be without income for a while. I guess I'm wondering what would be the best way to approach this?

RedXIV

Your manager has said to speak to her and get a list of prioritisations. This is a promising sign that she will work with you on this issue.

This could very well be a case where there is expected to be a backlog of stuff that never gets done but no one has told you this. It's not unusual to see in Tech for example where backlog work is never picked up and can go years before being finally looked at. This is very hard to mentally change gears to deal with if you're used to getting "all your work done" because there's always extra. And management generally are not going to stop you working extra to get more done because it suits them.

If you're feeling comfortable enough to talk to the manager, tell them the workload is unsustainable, and they either need to hire more staff, reduce your expected output or you WILL walk. Make it an open secret that if this doesn't change, you won't be around for much longer. You're only in the door 2 months, they are not going to expect massive loyalty yet BUT if the manager does right by you now, this is the sort of thing that creates that kind of loyalty

Former Former Former

Yeah, at the very least you need another conversation with your manager.

I don't think I've ever been in a job where 95% of the emails I receive require an action from me, and certainly not that number of mails - I would double check your understanding of this.

Finally - presuming you're still on your probation period, you very likely don't have to give any notice, should it come to that.

Sunrise_Sunset

My job has 2 aspects. One is a support role to my "customers" (internal but not office based), and the other is project work. After raising the issue already, the next day I was given another project to complete by month end and I have a weeks annual leave in that time frame too, which they are aware of. The day to day stuff cannot ever be up to date, and the "customers" expect answers or resolutions straight away. I don't know where on earth I'd be expected to find time for project work when I'm already doing close to 60 hours a week and not up to date.

28064212

Why, why, why, WHY are you logging in after hours? Has work requested you to do this? Are you getting out-of-hours calls demanding immediate action? Or are you just choosing to do it because you think it's expected?

Work pays for around 40 hours of my time a week. During that time, I will complete my assigned tasks to the best of my ability. Tasks not completed within those hours wait until the next time I'm at work.

There might be occasional exceptions e.g. emergency outages where a system goes down that actually affects customers, but (by definition) these are rare. There is no such thing as an everyday emergency.

Hope you're looking for another job whenever you can. That's just dreadful. The workplace really has become appalling.

Sunrise_Sunset

If I were to quit without notice, I would try to pick up a temp job. Employers will also be looking for seasonal workers soon. I'd prefer something more permanent and better paid but I'd do that while I kept looking.

I don't think I can stay there.

Supercell

Coming back from lunch to over 80 emails is insane, nobody could keep up with that.

You absolutely HAVE to speak with your boss how to manage this or you are going to burn out in no time. Nobody can answer that many emails so most must be nonsense that can be/has to be ignored or they are bad a employer expecting you to work for free after work and weekends. Whats your inbox going to be like when you come back from holidays?

You need to address this now or look for somewhere else for your health and well being.

OP it’s clear you need to quit, do it before it impacts on your overall health. If the work needs doing , another person or team will just have to do it.

The Nal

Tell your manager about it, how its impacting you and the company and things need to change. Show them your inbox. Then if nothing changes quickly tell them you're going to leave.

Strumms

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119481655#Comment_119481655

Problem with trying to talk to your boss is… the boss is enabling what’s going on or at the very least facilitating it.

i was in a similar situation before with a pair of absolute gobdaws.. manager / supervisor and their answer was that it was helpful for an atmosphere of teamwork that we were included on other peoples mailing lists, even if it had scant to zero relation to what we did in our own job / department …

come into work on Monday and have a couple of hundred email that have zero relation to you or your job, but it gave the impression you were interested in other peoples and what they are doing… reading, sorting out and responding to email used be a 15 minute gig, almost an hour then…eejits. Youd have a fair number just after break too…

take a week off and you’d need another week to sort your email out…

Lazy management,,prob won’t change.. but if you miss / skip over an important email ? Hmmm ;)

Just leave, it’s a culture problem…. Employees can sometimes influence change as regards individual elements of a job / workplace…. Culture.. altogether different proposition.

Irish_rat

At the current pace you're going op, you'll be in an early grave due to stress and burnout. The is no work life balance at your workplace and the managers don't care about your wellbeing.

You are pushing yourself and maybe making an impression but it's a political game sometimes you just need to put the foot up and let the crap commence. No one is putting a bullet to your head to work all those extra hours. Let things get messy and see how management respond. It's not the end of the world if you get the sack but it could be if you put your health in a bad place working like a dog

erlichbachman

There are always enough hours in the day and week, the problem seems to be not enough members on your team, if you have taken it upon yourself to work outside hours then that's on yourself and likely your manager wont intervene when you are being productive.

Do as much as you can do within working hours and let the work pile up, sounds like its more than a one man job so you have to help your manager realise this if they don't already know.

irelandrover

Set up rules on your inbox to organise it so you can prioritise your work easily

1) all emails where you are the only person in the "to" - > prioritise these

2) all other emails you are in the "to" - > work on these next if you have time

3) emails you are CC'ed on go to another folder that you never look at.

Keep a clear list of all emails you answer eachweek

Don't work more than your 40 hours a week.

If your manager claims that you aren't doing enough then you can show them your process. It will make it very clear that you work in a very structured fashion and there still isn't enough time to do it all.

sydthebeat

If you've to action 95% of the 50 or emails you received per day, then you're job should be reclassified as customer support.

If thosec emails are coming in from within your company then there are serious issues with the line management systems.

BattleCorp

Don't quit until you have at least spoken to your manager about the situation. Tell your manager what you have told us and see will they put in place measures to reduce your workload. If they don't, then just work your basic hours until you find a new job.

Senior

It is an employee's market right now. Start planning your exit strategy.

I know from experience and what you write, nothing will ever change in that type of workplace.

Count Dracula

Stop working in the evenings for starters, absolute madness.

Have the competency and professionalism to approach your boss about your workload and explain that you are having difficulty prioritising tasks. If they like your work they will help you out and give you proper direction on getting your tasks managed.

Make sure to not appear like a crank - it is highly likely management are bet out of it also. In these type of co's they are often looking for staff to adapt and think on their feet, take responsibility etc. Different co's have different operational ethic, it is part of your job to adapt to their workflow.

If you can't hack it then quit. Lots of companies pour it on if they can, they are sussing out your limitations all the time, if they have time to😂.

Good luck.

sonandheir

I would go to your doctor and tell them how burnt out you are. How much home, work, life is getting on top of you. You can't sleep even though your exhausted. I did this a few years ago at my job after working insane hours and doctor told me to take 2 weeks off stress leave. I was embarrassed to hand the notice in, felt I was letting them down.

In hindsight it was the best thing ever. They completely changed their attitude toward me and my workload. I have been promoted twice since and do far less of a workload just took on more responsibility. I was certain I was going to quit the job then, but am still here 6 years later and very happy.

Step 1) Log off at the end of your shift and stop working.

Step 2) Speak to the manager and see if they can help.

They probably won't so give a month's notice and you'll have a new job before your notice is finished or not long afterwards.

Drop productivity levels to the bare minimum when you resign!

kennethsmyth

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/2058259069/hate-my-new-job-and-want-to-leave

You are under 13 weeks so they could fire you without cause, I would take that you don't need to give them 2 months notice if they don't need to give you 2 months notice at this time.

Kurooi

There is nothing wrong with quitting a job that didn't work out. And it's normal enough to quit early, so long as you don't have a pattern on your CV, a line up of few month gigs, it doesn't send alarm bells either.

If you are willing to stay, scan the place, are others as busy and stressed? is it generally a bad employer / overwork abusive culture? could you shift into a more regular position someone with family life can take on?

I would question whether that 2 month notice period applies. Read through your contract, at least some of mine had shorter notice periods during probation, or for first X months of employment. And you say you worked a 'couple' of months, I'm sure some will call it icky but if it's 2-3 months I'd consider ignoring the notice, keep it off my CV and move on as soon as opportunity strikes. Go to some interviews see what's out there now.

PeaSea

You need to work your contracted hours, stop giving your time way free. Explain to your boss that you get 80 emails an hour and if you spend just one min on each you can't possibly read them never mind do them. Start sending every request you're asked to your boss - they might not be aware of most of them. A lot of them are probably chancing their arm requesting stuff. Either that or no one has done this role for months so stuff has built up.

I've been where you are and it cost me health wise, it's just not worth it. If it doesn't become normal very quickly get out.

Akrasia

After 2 months in a new company you should be just about getting to grips with your role, not single handedly responsible for hundreds of urgent queries a day.

Something's very wrong here. I work in tech and our support team close about 80 tickets each in a week but in the first few weeks they are shadowing and slowly start to answer queries. How are you, a new hire supposed to answer hundreds of internal support queries about systems you have likely never used before?

Doing everything via email is also nuts. Do you not use more modern communication tools like Teams?

Or a ticketing system like HubSpot or Intercom or Jira? These would allow your manager to run reports to see the volume of work you are expected to do and these are less formal so you don't have to spend so long composing an email.

It must be a big enough company if you have that many internal support queries. Do they have huge staff turnover and don't bother onboarding the staff so they come to you for everything?

Sunrise_Sunset

Thanks for all of the replies.

It's been overwhelming since the first week. I had a pretty good idea from then that it wasn't going to work out. By week 3 I knew for sure. Yes, other staff on my team are overworked too, and one told me he also raised the issue of workload recently but didn't really get a response. There was no one in the role for over a year, they couldn't fill it. I only found that out after I started. I spoke with a guy on my team who does a different role, and he said "if you can work here, you can work anywhere", it never lets up. It's not going to change. The company are only getting bigger, and taking on more work, and not hiring enough resources for all of this work. I think I've now made up my mind that I won't be staying. It's just whether I give notice or not. It's less than 13 weeks but I have signed a contract, so I think the contract trumps that. I honestly don't think I can hack another 2 months, I'd end up out on sick leave.

cuttingtimber22

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119482783#Comment_119482783

I would not worry too much about the contract. Your well being is far more important. Plus the attributes that got you the job in the first place will stand to you. For future employers - you were sold a pup - job described as one thing reality was another.

Akrasia

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119482783#Comment_119482783

Apply for new jobs tomorrow and if you're offered one take it as soon as you're ready to start. That company sounds completely toxic. You don't owe them notice that you're not legally obligated to serve

messrs

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119482783#Comment_119482783

Any chance you are working in hospitality? That role you are doing sounds so incredibly similar to one I left a couple of years ago. If not, then I totally understand the situation - the amount of emails we got was insane and we were told by my manager that all emails had a max sla for 24 hours!! It actually felt impossible at times! 2 months is a long notice period to have to give. If speaking to your manager isnt going to resolve anything then I would look for something else - you don't want it to continue to have to be logging on at home on evenings and weekends as its interfering with your family life and that will wear you down eventually so for your own mental health if nothing else I would suggest starting to look for something else.

According to citizens information if you are working for less than 13 weeks then no notice is required ( at least that is my understanding of it )

delboythedub

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119481396#Comment_119481396

Get out now for your Health's sake

Mitzy

OP I was in a similar situation a few years ago. Started in a company & the work hours were crazy. I was doing up to 70 hours a week.

I had to make a simple decision, my health or the job. So after only 13 weeks I handed in my notice. As I was still on probation I gave them 1 weeks notice. Best thing I ever did. When I went for interviews it was often raised as to why I left so I was honest about my reasons for leaving. It turns out that the company is renowned for those work hours & the turnover of staff is huge. I managed to get another job in a couple of weeks.

OP you have young children so they should be your priority. How will you manage if you get sick? Its simply not worth it. The workload is not your problem, its the company's. Its an employees job market out there. Take advantage of it. Best of luck.

magic17

If the workload was reduced, would you like to continue working there? If the answer is no, then you need to leave for your own good.

If the answer is yes, I think as others have stated, you should do what you can in your work hours. If you work 9-5 then work to the best of your ability during that time period - take your breaks. Put a firm deadline on your work hours each day, as soon at 6pm hits for example you're gone/logged off no matter what unless it's an absolute emergency but try to get out at 5pm if you can. Talk to your manager regularly so that they know where you stand. It's their problem that the work isn't being done, not yours. If the customers or whoever start complaining you can be guaranteed they'll be fast to hire you some help.

You also mentioned that the job was unfilled for a year, who was doing all this work during that time? That suggests to me that there's a lot of stuff that isn't actually priority but you're desperate to stay on top of it as a matter of pride. If you want to stay you'll have to let go of that and just accept that you'll always be behind.